Candles have been known for many centuries, going back to the eighth century B.C. The nature of candles is described in Ulmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Volume A5 at pages 29–30, where it is seen that candles are often made from paraffin, beeswax and stearin as basic materials, and where a host of other components and additives may also be present.
Paraffin-based candles that have been manufactured for many years contain non-renewable fuel sources including petroleum-derived paraffin and microcrystalline wax as well as other petroleum-based chemicals. These waxes may be mixed with a variable proportion of vegetable wax and/or beeswax, for example, soy wax or beeswax and saturated fatty acid such as a mixture of stearic and palmitic acid.
While candles containing renewable fuel sources such as vegetable wax and tallow are desirable and have been reported to burn with reduced emissions, such non-petroleum-based waxes are susceptible to discoloration in and near the melted wax pool and to reduced flame intensity associated with reduced capillary wax flow in the wick.
As candles of paraffin wax, vegetable wax, and mixed waxes became commercially important, efforts were made to “stabilize” said candles. At the National Candle Association meeting in Houston, 1994, R. van der Vennet presented a paper on “Antioxidants in Wax-Replacement of BHT” urging the use of Vitamin E (tocopherol) as an antioxidant to prevent the yellowing of wax when oxidized. This paper also describes the purpose of antioxidants, their mechanism, analysis, color and the maximum concentration of antioxidant for obtaining the best results. W094/13736 describes the same invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,726,526 describes a method of manufacturing a paraffin wax-based candle which has a reduced tendency to drip when burned, which comprises incorporating from about 0.001% to 0.1% by weight of a substituted phenolic compound, e.g., within a substantially non-oxidized melted paraffin wax.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,645,705 teaches a transparent combustible candle body material of an oil and a polyamide. The use of a small amount of an odor-masking agent, stearic acid and 5 percent by weight of an oxidation-inhibiting agent is mentioned.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,329 describes a candle comprising of butter oil, flavor, palmitic acid, butylated hydroxyanisole, and solidified oil.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,773,091 teaches a method of treating surfaces to increase resistance of said surfaces to graffiti markings, comprising the steps of applying a coating material to the surface. The coating material is made from water, mineral and synthetic waxes, UV light absorbers, sterically hindered amines, amino ethers and antioxidants.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,694 describes a transparent stiff gel candle, comprising a hydrocarbon oil, a wick and one or more triblock, radial block or multiblock copolymer of a thermoplastic rubber, and optionally a diblock copolymer. The candle optionally contains an antioxidant, stabilizer, fragrance, colorant, insect repellant and flame retardant. A specific reference is made to the use of 0.01% by weight of butylated hydroxytoluene as an antioxidant.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,063,144 teaches a substantially non-paraffin candle, comprising a wick and a combustible candle composition consisting essentially of stearic acid, vegetable-derived wax, one vegetable oil, one fragrance, and one oxidation inhibitor. The amount of the oxidation inhibitor in the composition is from 0.01% by weight to 0.5% by weight. The term “substantially non-paraffin” refers to a candle constituted of at least 95% by weight of vegetable or otherwise renewable resources of natural origin and not more than 5% by weight of paraffin or otherwise non-renewable-resource derived materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,221,115 describes a candle wax containing a combination of a UV light absorber, preferably a benzotriazole, and a hindered amine. The combination also contains an antioxidant.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,284,007 teaches a candle formed from a vegetable lipid-based composition comprised of a vegetable lipid component and a petroleum wax.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,674 describes a white, dyed, dipped, unscented and/or scented candle wax which is effectively stabilized against discoloration and fading by the incorporation therein of a red-shifted benzotriazole either alone or in combination with a hindered amine and/or an antioxidant.
“Peroxide Formation in Aroma Chemicals: The Effect of Chemical Structure and Antioxidants on Product Integrity”, an article by Robert H. Bedoukian, teaches the formation of peroxides in many common flavor and fragrance chemicals in the presence of air, and the addition of common antioxidants such as tocopherol and butylated hydroxyanisole to the chemicals for preventing peroxide formation.
It is well known in the art that loss or alteration of candle fragrance during candle manufacture, storage, and burning, is a persistent problem. The solution to this problem has long been sought. Fragrance polymerization can cause attenuation of fragrance release, or alteration of fragrance odor, and it can reduce the size of the candle flame or shut down the capillary flow of wax in the wick and thereby block combustion altogether. The instant composition and method for its preparation provide a solution to this persistent problem.
None of the above references teach the superior protection provided to the candle by the instant composition. The superior protection provided to the candle protects the fragrance from becoming discolored, losing fragrance intensity, or undergoing polymerization. Fragrance polymerization has been shown capable of causing candle tunneling, candle wick clogging, flame attenuation, decreased fragrance intensity, and other undesirable changes which occur during the burning of the candle. The protection of fragrance is also important during the candle manufacturing process, as that process involves heating the wax and fragrance combination.